Saturday, July 30, 2011

NORTHERN IRELAND

ANTRIMArmoySights & Sites
●Dark Hedges – off Bregagh Road; from Belfast, take M2 north out of Belfast and look for A26 (just north of Antrim), take A26 north toward and around Ballymena, about 7 miles past Ballymena look for where road forks with into A44 (Drones Road, toward Armoy & Ballycastle), take A44 for another 7 miles or so, and before reaching Armoy, take left onto Bregagh Road, until, after about 1 mile, cross over B15 (Gracehill Road), and stay straight for another mile until you cross over Ballykenver Road, then follow bend and prepare to say “Wow.”

BallintoySights & Sites
●Ballintoy Harbour – between Giants Causeway & Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge; causewaycoastalroute.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=60; looks out to Rathlin Island and beyond to Scotland; exceptional for walking; narrow, winding road carries down to harbor; harbor built from limestone blocks and surrounded on land-side by limestone cliffs; well-sheltered from Atlantic Ocean by black basalt islands.
●Dunnaglea-Larry Bane Bay – just west of Ballintoy Harbour; spectacular coastline containing dazzling chalk cliffs that dominate coast for almost 4km; fossils.
BallycastleSights & Sites
●Fair Head & Murlough Bay – signposted off A2 (east & west of Ballycastle); ireland-highlights.com/sight/Murlough_Bay.html; known for outstanding beauty and remote location, with views across ocean to Rathlin Island, Mull of Kintyre, Islay & various other Scottish islands; take Torr Head Scenic Route to get there.

BushmillsSights & Sites
●Dunluce Castle – 87 Dunluce Road (between Portballintrae & Portrush, connected to mainland by bridge); 011-44-028-2073-1938; glenarmcastle.com/dunluce-castle; in 13th Century 2nd Ulster Earl Richard Óg de Burgh built 1st castle at Dunluce (in McQuillan family hands by 1513); earliest features are 2 large drum towers about 30' in diameter on eastern side, both relics of stronghold built here by McQuillans after they became lords of Route; McQuillans were Lords of Route from late 13th Century until displaced by MacDonnell after losing 2 major battles against them during mid & late-16th Century; Dunluce Castle later became home to chief of Clan MacDonnell of Antrim & Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg (from Scotland); in 1584, Antrim Glens seized by Sorley Boy MacDonnell who takes castle, keeping it for himself & improving it in Scottish style; Sorley Boy swore allegiance to Queen Elizabeth I & his son Randal made 1st Antrim Earl by King James I; 4 years later, Girona, galleass from Spanish Armada wrecked in storm on rocks nearby; ship cannon installed in gatehouses & remaining cargo sold, funds being used to restore castle; MacDonnell’s granddaughter Rose born in castle in 1613; Dunluce Castle served as Antrim Earl seat until MacDonnells’ impoverishment in 1690, following Battle of Boyne; since that time, castle deteriorated & parts scavenged to serve as materials for nearby buildings; in 2011, major archaeological excavations found significant remains of “lost town of Dunluce,” razed to ground in Irish uprising of 1641; lying adjacent to Dunluce Castle, town built around 1608 by Randall MacDonnell, 1st Antrim Earl & pre-dates official Plantation of Ulster; may have contained most revolutionary housing in Europe when built in early 17th Century, including indoor toilets that only had started to be introduced around Europe at time & complex street network based on grid system; Dunluce Castle thought to be inspiration for “Cair Paravel” in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia; in 1973 castle appeared on inner gatefold of multi-million selling Led Zeppelin album Houses of Holy; Flight of Doves (1971) filmed here; Belfast-Derry railway line run by Northern Ireland Railways connects to Coleraine & along branch line to Portrush; scenic walk from Portrush alongside Dunluce Castle & Giant’s Causeway & Bushmills Railway in Bushmills.
●Giant’s Causeway – 44 Causeway Road; 011-44-028-2073-1855; visit-belfast.com/things-to-do/member/giants-causeway; UNESCO World Heritage site; geological formation on northeast Atlantic coast; jagged headland of neatly packed columns that point towards Scotland.

CushendallSights & Sites
●Cushendun – sits off A2 coast road between Ballycastle & Cushendall; sheltered harbor at the Dun River mouth and Glendun (1 of 9 Glens of Antrim); Mull of Kintyre in Scotland is only about 15 miles away across North Channel and can be seen easily on clear days; most of village and parkland around Glenmona to north owned by National Trust.